Third Horry County School switches to virtual learning due to COVID-19
A third Horry County school will instruct its students online temporarily as COVID-19 cases rise in the school district and the community as a whole.
With 16 active student cases and 260 students in quarantine, Loris Middle School will close its building to students for two weeks due to COVID-19, Horry County Schools (HCS) announced Wednesday. Just over two weeks into the school year, the school joins Aynor Middle School and Conway High School, which announced a hiatus on in-person learning in the last few days.
Loris Middle School students will begin online learning Thursday and are set to return to in-person classes Sept. 16, according to an announcement sent to parents.
There are also two staff cases and 14 staff members in quarantine at Loris Middle School, according to the district’s coronavirus dashboard. Across the district, 9,100 students are in quarantine and 747 students have current cases of COVID-19.
HCS started the school year with far fewer coronavirus precautions than were in place last year. Due to a state proviso banning mask requirements in schools, the district doesn’t require face coverings, though other large school districts in South Carolina have defied the law and required them anyway.
The district hasn’t established a specific rate of cases per number of students or staff that would warrant the entire district switching to distance learning, and each school is monitored individually on a daily basis.
All after-school activities at Loris Middle School, including sports practices and club meetings, are cancelled during the two-week period.
Parents who wish to request meals for their student for the rest of this week and next week need to call the Loris Middle School cafeteria at 843-756-0912 before 10 a.m. Thursday. Breakfast and lunch for the designated days are available.
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 1:29 PM.
